


They Can't Help but be Curious

by stuck_inmyemophase



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Basically just some random stuff from Layton's students collective perspectives, Gen, There's really nothing official to tag this as
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:20:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24544498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stuck_inmyemophase/pseuds/stuck_inmyemophase
Summary: Layton's students aren'tunfamiliar with the company he keeps
Comments: 5
Kudos: 31





	They Can't Help but be Curious

Professor Layton never ceased to be kind. No matter where one looked, he'd never been caught in a bad mood. At least, he'd never taken it out on another person. It was a question whether he had it in him to feel any anger towards anyone really. Professor Layton is not the type to get annoyed when interrupted in his office.

"Take this to Professor Layton. If he's not at his office just leave it on his desk, he won't mind."

Well, when someone doesn't respond after thrice knocking, it's natural to assume he is not there.

She tries the handle and it is not locked. She opens the door, fully expecting a vacant room, which is what she finds. Or she believes she does, but as she scans the room for the best place to leave her paper (shockingly unorganized for the Professor's apparent standards) her eyes gloss over the sofa settled in the middle of the room.

The room is not vacant. Rather, Professor Layton has fallen asleep, book clutched to his chest, hat escaped to the floor.

She isn't certain what to do with herself. Entering the room suddenly feels like a huge invasion of privacy. She can hardly return without leaving the note, however, and it seems the Professor isn't going to wake.

The desk is three or four reasonable steps from the door. In this case, it is two long steps and an arm's length away with the feet twisted sideways so as to spin around at a moment's notice. The student drops the paper on the very edge of the desk, eyeing the Professor warily, ready to jump up at the slightest move, and all but sprints from the room.

She almost runs into the chest of another woman as she leaves.

"My apologies, miss."

"Not at all," she replies. She can't help but stare at the lady. She holds herself with confidence, like the world could not stop her should it try. It's a confidence she doesn't often see in women. She would be intimidated were she not hit with a wave of admiration. "Is the Professor in there?"

"Yes," the student replies quickly. "He's sleeping," she adds, because it would be odd not to mention it, after all. She had just been in there. She still felt like she'd been caught in "the act", whatever act it was.

The lady huff's, "well he's going to have to wake up," she says haughtily and strides into the room with an air of arrogance. The student scurries away before she can witness anything more.

\---

Anyone who takes Professor Layton's class knows about his self-proclaimed apprentice. The Professor has never introduced him as such but the boy seems pretty certain on the idea.

He's sat through their lectures before. Polite enough to remain quiet, and, though you'd think it would bore someone so young, is always bouncing out of his seat. It's amusing to watch. He scribbles down notes with such vigor and leans so far forward over his desk he almost falls off. And when he realises he's gotten over-excited he will sit back and pull a straight face and be as serious as possible, only for all attempts to be forgotten within the next five minutes.

Sometimes he interacts with the students next to him, they think they intimidate him, perhaps, but he will sometimes ask to be filled in on a topic he's particularly interested in. Once he was given someone's spare notes and the professor shared with them when he returned them how the apprentice had spent near enough an hour copying them out with such dedication. It was easy to imagine him leaned over his notebook, pen gripped in hand, eyebrows furrowed and tongue sticking out in concentration. He was present in lectures only rarely, but the sight of this was common in them.

\---

The students of Professor Layton are not unused to learning from a substitute, or even having lectures simply cancelled for a later date. No one could complain, many had chosen the class for admiration of him not only in his career as an archaeologist but also his many tales of detective work which often made the papers (though he refused to talk about them in lectures, no matter how interesting the paper had been).

They often have a substitute teacher. Since Layton is gone so often they really needed one to keep on track. The faculty had yet to pin one down special for them, it was usually just whomever was available given the Professor often left on short notice.

Though suddenly they have been granted a new substitute just for them. A red-headed, eager man who seems to love the sound of his own voice.

Every day he appears he makes something of a performance of glancing at the Professor's lecture notes and promptly tossing them aside. Then, once he's found himself discussing some anectode only partly related to the topic at hand, he does openly ask the class what it was he is actually _supposed_ to be talking about.

He is easy to get off track. Seems to always have a story to tell, or some fun, obscure fact about whatever it is he's teaching them, which would lead him on another tangent entirely.

They are greatful for him, at least he's enthusiastic - and someone consistent. Even if he does get off topic (though always on the topic of archaeology) it's clear he loves the subject. He had told them many times about his love of it as a youth. He even tells stories about the Professor as a teen, which all are equally eager to hear. None would admit it, of course, but curiosity about the Professor's private life plagues all of them to some degree and this guy tells them plenty of entertaining stories.

It is unclear how he managed to get hired given he'd apparently never finished school, let alone gone to university himself. No one questions it.

\---

No one knew their their Professor had a daughter until he rushes in one day, late for the first time in a long time, deeply apologetic and explaining that he'd been late dropping his daughter off at her new school.

Of course, a wave of whispers crashes through the room. They know by now that should they ask the Professor will tell them nothing, never straying from the subject matter. The Professor isn't _married_ is he? How long has he had her without them knowing? Will he ever bring his daughter to a lecture like the apprentice?

Professor Layton hushes the class fairly quickly, but many of the students now have yet another question about their Professor tugging at the back of their minds.


End file.
